TLDR: prioritizing safety at every level is vital when living with someone who has celiac disease!!
when living with someone who has celiac disease, it's crucial to not be careless and thoughtless. cross-contamination can be extremely damaging for our celiac housemates.
i live with my partner who has celiac disease. i've worked with them to make this post, listing things that we do in a household that has a celiac member. we also go into other stuff we would like to do, but cannot due to the other people we live with refusing to cooperate : [ so it's not possible with our current housing.
(my partner is sure they must be micro-dosing cause of the other people here, and he just tries not to think about all the serious health risks that come along with that :,|)
things we do : ] ！！！！！
- we have designated gluten free dishes, utensils, and containers! these only get washed with our designated gluten free sponge!
- when buying food, we aim for things that already happen to be celiac-safe gluten free, to avoid the "gluten free" price tag!! (example: rice, frozen vegetables, raw meat, sack of raw potatoes)
(if ur gluten free you KNOW how expensive a gluten free version of a gluten item is :,|)
- i wash my hands, face, and rinse my mouth out after every time i consume or make contact with anything that is not celiac-safe gluten free
- i use a manual wheelchair and self propel around the house, so to avoid any cross contamination, i NEVER touch the push rims of my wheelchair after making contact with gluten, until i have washed my hands. this makes sure i don't re-contaminate my hands when i touch my push rims again.
- my partner uses paper towels to dry their hands and gluten free dishes instead of reusable towels, because everyone else in the house contaminates all the towels :[
- my partner doesn't use plastic for utensils/dishes cause it can be scratched easy, and gluten can hide in the scratches like how bacteria can
- gluten free sunscreen, shampoo/consitioner, lotion/moisturizer, chapstick, toothpaste
- we use gluten free sunscreen, lotion, shampoo, conditioner, moisturizer, chapstick, and toothpaste.
(sunscreen and moisturizer contaminates the hands and skin, and can get in the mouth via sweat! shower products contaminate the skin and hair, and can get into the mouth and eyes during showers from the running water! toothpaste and chapstick... are more obvious, as they go on the mouth.)
(some people have reactions to gluten on the skin with skin contact, and my partner has mild skin reactions!)
- when buying drinks or food, NO paper straws!! and CAUTION with *some* paper plates and *some* paper towels. paper straws can contain gluten!!!!! and are enough to cause reactions in my partner. there are some (but not all) paper plates and paper towels can contain gluten!! in paper towels it can be in the adhesive that's used to stick the first piece down to the roll)
- my partner works as a professional baker, and has his own baking small business as well. when having to work with gluten that can contaminate the air (like working with gluten flour) they wear a face mask! to prevent breathing in any gluten.
(the gluten flour floating in the air can be breathed in, entering and sitting in the nose and throat and when in the nose it can be ingested through mixing with mucus in your nose and throat that gets ingested :c)
What we would like to do! :
- be a primarily gluten free home, while controlling items containing gluten. (example: instead of having a few designated gluten free dishes/sponges/food/towels/items, everything will be gluten free. instead we will have designated gluten dishes/sponges/food/towels/items that are under strict control. my partner should be able to live normally and safely in his own home!!! it's my job to contain the gluten i bring in the house.)
- minimize gluten as much as possible!!! aim to have as little gluten as possible inside the home. treat any that comes in as a hazard (cause it is) and clean up completely and immediately. (example: my bulgogi marinade i LOVE has gluten in it :c so if i were to eat it, it would place the jar in a sealed bag, and store it in a designated gluten-drawer in the fridge. when using it with food, i clean all dishes that made contact with it thoroughly and immediately. as well as wash my face, hands, and mouth.)
- no gluten soaps/shampoos/conditioners/lotions/toothpaste/chapsticks in the house!!!!
- selling all gluten free baking!! my partner is going to start baking entirely celiac-safe gluten free baked-goods only in their small business!! :]
